The play-off chasing Montreal Impact sealed a 2-1 victory over the Chicago Fire on Wednesday night at Stade Saputo thanks to a couple of former Premier League veterans.

Montreal’s ex-Chelsea striker Didier Drogba made it five goals in five MLS games since his summer arrival when he opened the scoring in the 39th-minute off an assist from Nigel Reo-Coker.

The former West Ham United and Aston Villa midfielder, who has also had stints at the Vancouver Whitecaps and now-defunct Chivas USA since moving to North America in 2013, collected a pass from Johan Venegas while drifting out to the right before swinging in a cross for Drogba to smash a trademark headed finish past Chicago goalkeeper Jon Busch.

The goal was not without controversy, though, as the 37-year-old Blues legend was extremely fortunate to escape a foul call after wrestling Fire skipper Jeff Larentowicz to the ground in the lead-up to Reo-Coker’s ball – an altercation which referee Fotis Bazakos failed to notice.

The visitors did manage to grab an equaliser five minutes after the break through David Accam but Montreal would go on to seal all three points after substitute Andres Romero netted within four minutes of his 72nd-minute introduction to give his side’s post-season hopes a huge boost.

Currently sitting in the Eastern Conference’s sixth and final play-off spot, the win means the Impact now have a four-point advantage over seventh-placed Orlando City SC heading into their final six fixtures of the regular season, while also having two games in hand on all four teams below them.

Their 2015 campaign looked like it was going off the rails last month when head coach Frank Klopas was sacked following a run of four games without a win but interim boss Mauro Biello has since helped get things back on track thanks in no small part to Drogba’s hot start to life in MLS.

Freddie Shires

Freddie is a freelance sports writer, having recently completed an MA in Sports Journalism at St. Mary’s University, Twickenham. With an especially keen interest in all things American sports-related, he has written extensively about the NFL, MLS and the U.S. national team for various sites.